Study: You Can Train Your Brain To Defeat Pain

The claim: If you suffer from chronic pain, you can reduce your agony by 22%—and avoid over-medicating or over-dosing on prescription painkillers like codeine—by practicing and perfecting a series mental exercises, according to a report in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.

The research: The study team, led by Eric L. Garland, PhD, of the University of Utah, recruited 115 people taking prescription opioids to treat chronic, painful conditions like arthritis or fibromyalgia. While half those people were assigned to a traditional support group, the other half practiced a series of simple mental exercises designed to lower their pain and limit their reliance on drugs. Compared to the people in support groups, those who practiced the mental exercises—which the authors call the MORE technique—enjoyed significant drops in pain, opioid misuse, and opioid craving. The MORE group also reported fewer pain-related issues with sleep and mood. And those benefits persisted for 3 months, Dr. Garland’s research shows. MORE combines three therapeutic components: mindfulness training (to increase awareness), reappraisal (to reframe stressful situations), and savoring (to focus attention on positive events).

What it means: Nearly one-third of Americans—mostly middle-aged and older adults—suffer from chronic pain. And one in 10 pain sufferers who takes prescription opioids like oxycodone or hydrocodone abuse them, finds past research. As a result, opioid overdose is the most common type of fatal drug overdose in the US, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. But the MORE technique combats the type of pain-related emotional stress that leads to opioid abuse, Dr. Garland explains. How? “We teach patients to regulate their emotional reactions to pain and stress,” which allows them to shift their focus off their pain and onto more positive aspects of life, he says.

The bottom line: Taking a few minutes to mentally break down your pain before you pop a pill can lower your physical discomfort and your dependence on drugs, Dr. Garland’s research shows. He recommends doing this: While breathing steadily, try to pinpoint the exact location and nature of your pain. Is it a sensation of heat in your lower back, or tightness in your wrist? Once you’ve isolated the pain, ask yourself whether it’s strong enough that you need to take a pill. By doing this, you stop your brain from regarding your wrist or back pain as something larger or more agonizing than it really is, Dr. Garland says. Many of his patients have found they don’t really need a pain pill—or they feel greater relief from the pills they do take, he adds. You can learn more about the MORE technique at Garland’s website.

Markham HeidMarkham Heid is an experienced health reporter and writer, has contributed to outlets like TIME, Men’s Health, and Everyday Health, and has received reporting awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and the Maryland, Delaware, and D.C.

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